 Poster: A snowHead
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Last year when visiting Banff, Canada I skied on Salomon Enduro RX750's ( http://www.skibanff.com/lessons-rentals/equipment-rentals/2013-14-rental-fleet ). I loved them. We are going back to Banff this year and because of our package deal we are renting from Ultimate Sports in Banff, however, they don't appear to have this ski.
Would someone who understand skis (obviously much better than I do, I barely know a thing) be able to point me toward what ski might be closest to the Salomon Enduro RX750's from what is available at Ultimate Sports (see the list here: http://www.ultimatebanff.com/rentals/our-skis-and-boards)? I can get any ski on the list, but I don't have a clue on which one might be the closest to what I've liked in the past (RX750).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I have never tried the Salomon Enduro RX750, but I was on the Head Rev 80 a few years back and they were really good fun (not fantastic on ice, but passable) and would probably do you better for any off piste than the Salomons would have as they are slightly wider.
If you want more on-piste / speed I would would imagine the Dynastar contact cross would be better, but I've never tried them myself.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thanks for that. Speed is not my problem by a long shot. I'm 6'4" tall and 250 pounds. The instant I turn more towards down the hill I can typically build up speed more than I would like. I'm just starting to try and figure out carving, but again, I've never been on a pair of skis that I would consider slow because of my weight.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The instant I turn more towards down the hill I can typically build up speed more than I would like.
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I don't want to sound rude, but that does sound like the sort of problem which needs to be solved by having lessons, rather than choosing the right ski.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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No offense taken. You are right. However, when you only get the chance to ski a few days out of the year it can be challenging to find the value of instruction over fun. Fun is what this is all about, right?  That's why I was just trying to search for the same ski I enjoyed using in the past.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Why not just get the LX750s. They can't be too far different.
Or take a punt on something and just take it back and change it if doesn't work out.
I skied Cham 87s recently and they were great for me.
In regard instruction. A couple of hours private lesson isn't going to take you away from the fun for too long. And besides, the better you get the more fun you can have 
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The reason why I'm avoiding the LX750's is because of my experience last year. I started with a beginner ski like the LX750, but something didn't feel right. For fun I moved up to what they called their SPORT package, which was an RX750. The difference shocked me. Turning was so much easier and smoother. I really couldn't believe the ski itself could make this much difference and is why I'm trying to get the same as I got last year or at least something very close.
I see what everyone means about the instruction. It sounds like a good investment and I think I'll do it. Thanks again.
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You are the same height as me but much heavier (I am 85kg which I think equates to just under 200 pounds) so I guess it's not a surprise you find a beginner ski to.... flimsy.
Try the Cham 87s and see how you get on. After I used them I took a look at some reviews because I am looking to buy, and they seem really well rated.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks Layne. I see those are listed as Powder skis. Is it because they are Powder skis (wider I guess?) that they might help with people who are a little taller and heavier?
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As you're a pretty big guy you'll benefit from a fairly stiff ski, i.e. one with a fair bit of metal in it. From the descriptions on the website of your rental shop the Head Rev 85 looks the best match. I'd go with them rather than a wider more off-piste ski as they should be easier to turn on piste.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks Valkyrie. I think that makes sense. I'm not asking for a detailed description because I know I should spend the time to research this myself, but is there sort of a high-level explanation around what actually makes a beginner, intermediate, and advanced ski? I see at the advanced ski level there is quite a bit of variability based on the terrain or the type of skiing you are doing (i.e. powder vs. downhill). But what about in the beginner to intermediate range. How do they differentiate? Just curious.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I'm no expert, so many others may be able to correct me, but also I really struggled with rental categories (and differences between skis in general) when I first started to get interested in skiing a few years ago. Understanding what I was strapping to my feet seemed quite important, but it is very confusing!
See my massive generalisations below:
Beginner skis, in general, tend to be much easier to flex and a newbie skier will probably be given a relatively short ski so that it is easier to to turn. Unfortunately at some rental shops 'beginner' just seems to equate to 'not very good' or 'old'. I have found the age element to be especially true in the alps.
Intermediate is a tough one because a lot of 'all mountain skis' get lumped in to this category and different reviews of the skis themselves tend to pick up different attributes when deciding if they are intermediate / advanced / expert or not. The way I tend to think about it is that 'intermediate' skis are the first category of proper ski that a rental shop will have, but they will probably have at least one, if not two more levels above. The difference between these other levels will vary depending on the shop. As with beginner skis being old, intermediate can also just mean 'still quite old', and levels above may just be an age related price point.
From things I've skied on a few years ago, including the Head Rev 80 that I mentioned above and Rossignol Experience 76 which seem to be intermediate rental classics, rental companies tend to choose quite forgiving skis for this category. Not that you have this problem, but from my experience, skis like this can really help you to improve your confidence as they will be much more responsive to the technique learnt as a beginner than crap very bendy skis are.
I read either on SH or another site that it is worth noting that some extremely good skiers use skis that are classed as 'intermediate' on review sites and by rental companies (not rented i'm sure!), because being able to do a backflip off a cliff has very little do do with which skis you are on (or so i'm told). This is illustrated a bit by park skis, a lot of which tend to be put in the advanced / expert category of a rental company, but are usually classed as 'intermediate' by review sites because of their flex pattern and the fact that they are versatile.
Advanced / Expert (For completeness) tend to be skis for a more specific purpose (powder / on piste edge to edge fun). This means that if conditions change out of the optimum for that ski, the skier will need a bit more experience to make up for it or they could struggle to control them. I would class most wider all mountain skis here (over 80 underfoot) because they take a bit more work to get on edge, but others may disagree. It can also equate to 'really quite new' in rental speak.
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| JPW wrote: |
| Thanks Layne. I see those are listed as Powder skis. Is it because they are Powder skis (wider I guess?) that they might help with people who are a little taller and heavier? |
They are all mountain ski's so good for piste and off piste (crud, powder, etc). When I skied on them for a couple of days it was all on piste.
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You know it makes sense.
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| JPW wrote: |
| Thanks Valkyrie. I think that makes sense. I'm not asking for a detailed description because I know I should spend the time to research this myself, but is there sort of a high-level explanation around what actually makes a beginner, intermediate, and advanced ski? I see at the advanced ski level there is quite a bit of variability based on the terrain or the type of skiing you are doing (i.e. powder vs. downhill). But what about in the beginner to intermediate range. How do they differentiate? Just curious. |
I wouldn't get to hung up on beginner, intermediate, advanced. For me, it's more about what it's going to be used for. Forgeting racing/competition skis... for you holiday/weekend skier, to me, there are piste skis, all mountain skis and then specialist skis for powder and park. You will only buy specialists if you are in a position to have a multiple number of skis that you can switch to day by day according to the conditions and what you are doing. I would say for the vast majority of punters we are talking one set of skis that we can use every day. In which case it boils down to the piste or all mountain decision. After that, it boils down to the ski that suits you. And whether you are beginner, intermediate or advanced skier IMO doesn't really matter. You just have to, by trial and error mainly, find what works for you.
Just as a for example, when my binding bust at Christmas, I went in the rental shop, told them I wanted an all mountain ski. I showed him my current skis (B2s) and asked him what he would recommend. I think he got out a Salomon. I told him I didn't want Salomon. He then got out the Cham 87s. Job done. If I hadn't have got on with them I would have simply taken them back and tried something else. And so on.
Before the B2s I had Bandit XX which were recommended to me by a mountain guide. I also had a brief spell with some Movements, which were too stiff for me. All of those skis are just all mountain skis. A compromise that means that are good for everything but not brilliant for any particular thing. All mountain skis have IMO got better and better over the years.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Oh and just to say reading descriptions of skis does my head in. It does very really to help me. Take those Head Rev 85, it says recommended for skiers who like to "rip groomers" and "mob through the trees furiously". WTF is that all about 
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Layne,
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recommended for skiers who like to "rip groomers" and "mob through the trees furiously". WTF is that all about
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quite!
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